


I love you 5

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluffy, High School AU, M/M, awkward!harry, louis is kind of a jerk, popular!niall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-04
Updated: 2013-09-04
Packaged: 2017-12-25 15:39:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/954838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry can count to five times where he made a fool of himself in front of Niall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I love you 5

Harry can count to five times where he made a fool of himself in front of Niall.  
  
  
  
There was that one time when he was stumbling in the cafeteria, looking for Nick in the mass of loud students eating at every table. He had his plate in his hand, burning hot on his hands for letting it in the microwave for too long and all he wanted was to find his friend before the food would leave marks. The number of brown haired boys with white T-shirt that day was astonishing and Harry cursed Nick for choosing this day to dress like a normal teenage boy. He was so caught up in his inner hatred for his friend and the way his meat pie was scalding his skin that he didn’t notice the blonde boy coming his way. That was definitely a first because Harry  _always_  notice him, his eyes always trailing on his small yet built figure, on his blue eyes or on his electric mop of hair that seemed to always look good in a messy kind of way that had always left Harry confused. But this time he didn’t and when his eyes finally met Niall’s, it was too late. It all happened really fast but Harry saw it just under his eyes, in a sort of slow motion that made it even more embarrassing. Niall bumped into him in the middle of the cafeteria alley, with a strength that made Harry’s grip on his plate loosen, the food tumbling to the ground between the two of them, both pair of wide eyes watching it fall but not making a move to try and save it. Harry was pretty sure his cheeks were even hotter than his meal, or  _used to be_  meal, by the way Niall was burning holes with his worried? guilty? blue eyes in his face. It didn’t last long though because Niall was already crouched down, picking it up to food to put it back in his content, mumbling curses and apologies to the curly lad.  
  
  
  
“Don’t worry,” Harry said, his voice weak and he mentally slapped himself even though it had happened every single time he was addressing the blonde. Niall made him feel vulnerable and uncertain and Harry had to deal with it. He started picking up bits and pieces of his food as well, very well aware that they probably looked like two idiots in front of the whole school. "S'not your fault."  
  
  
  
Niall shook his head. "It sucks," he said as he cleaned the very last food from the tiled floor and stood up, Harry following him suit. "I'll make it up. Let me buy you lunch."  
  
  
  
Harry cheeks heated up. "Don't bother, I'm gonna be alright," he said, shrugging and moved to leave but a pale hand curled around his bicep.  
  
  
  
"Please? I really feel bad for ruining your dinner. Let me make it up to you."  
  
  
  
Harry made the mistake to glance at Niall's eyes and all he found was sincerity and maybe guilt dancing in the blue irises. He considered his options. Nick was still nowhere in sight. He no longer had any dinner, as it was infested when it touched the filthy floor of their school. And he had the chance to spend the rest of the hour with the blonde.  
  
  
  
So he shrugged. "Alright."  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
"I guess we'll take Styles," one of the boys from the footy team, Louis or something, Harry wasn't sure what was his name said with a shrug as the other boys from the team groaned around him. Harry simply rolled his eyes.  
  
  
  
He was used to it, being picked last in gym class. It didn't bother him anymore. He knew he sucked. It didn't mean that he didn't feel self-conscious though, because Niall was watching, from the side, with his wide, silly grin plastered on his face and it made Harry quite nervous he if was completely honest. He didn't like the way Niall could see his every move, not when he was wearing gym shorts and a tight T-shirt, in which he probably looked even more lanky and awkward then usual, not really knowing what to do with the orange ball that bounced from one boy to another all across the court. He really wasn't good in any sports, but basketball was probably the worst.  
  
  
  
Suddenly, his team was standing fairly close to the hoop and before he even knew it, he had the ball in his large hands and his eyes went wide. When they played sports, all he ever did was run a little, faking enthusiasm and participation and he usually got away with it. No one ever actually passed him the ball.  _Ever_. Yet, there he was, sweet, caring, _asshole_ Niall who threw the ball at him, though Harry wasn't sure yet if it was in an attempt of genuine kindness or if he just wanted to make fun of him. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to ponder on it because the guy that switched with Niall to go on the sidelines was shouting "C'mon Styles!” more in an impatient tone than an encouraging one and he saw the panic in his teammates eyes'. So he did the first thing that came to his mind, his first reflex, and shot the ball towards the basketball hoop. It looked more as if he wanted to get rid of the damn thing and he held his breath as the ball made it’s way up to the basket, rolled on the edge of it. Harry was sweating, shaking, nervous and never a PE had been this intense before. Again, he never much invested himself in PE to begin with. The ball finally dropped into the hoop, but Harry didn’t even have time to celebrate his small victory because he immediately noticed that the opposite was the one whooping him, while is own only shot him deceived and angry looks, most of them accompanied with groans.  
  
  
  
“Nice job, Styles,” Louis said in a mocking tone. “Next time, try to mark for our team, yeah?” He added with a huff, clearly annoyed.  
  
  
  
Harry simply swallowed the guilt and embarrassment with his head hung low, his face flaming red. He jerked away when a hand landed on his shoulder, not in the mood to hear his teammates make more fun of him. The hand didn’t move though, contrariwise, it moved further up and wrapped around his other shoulder so the boy was leaning on him. Harry knew who it was, he recognised the scent of his after-shave and deodorant, mixed with the salty swear dripping off his forehead, but he twisted his head to take a look anyway, and he found Niall grinning bright at him, despite Harry’s mistake.  
  
  
  
“Great shot you did mate! Too bad it wasn’t for us,” Harry’s cheek turned pink once more as he kept his eyes on the ground, listening to Niall’s laughter. It wasn’t a mean, mocking laugh like Harry anticipated. He just seemed to find the situation very funny, and that brought the tiniest of smile on the corner of the curly headed lad. “I swear, if you had scored on the good side, Louis would be kissing your feet at the moment,” he whispered in Harry’s ear, his arm still firm around him, bringing their faces closer.  
  
  
  
“Why did you pass me the ball?” Harry asked then as Niall pulled away, feeling empty and cold without the blonde’s weight on him.  
  
  
  
Niall shrugged and smiled his toothy grin, “I don’t know, I just felt like it,” and he jogged away to join Louis and some other boys, probably to talk about some new defensive plans for the game.  
  
  
  
And if anyone caught Niall sending some encouraging nods towards Harry in the following game, no one talked about it.  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
Harry wandered the hallways slowly, going back to his math class after a much needed trip to the bathroom. He liked walking in the school when everyone was in class. He liked the peaceful silence that he wasn’t used to find in this kind of place. He had his hallway pass safely tucked in his hand, to make sure he wouldn’t lose it like the last time and smiled at his history teacher he met while turning a corner.  
  
  
  
He walked smoothly to the dark door, the same door to every single classroom in the school. He knocked softly on it and found it strange that not a single sound could be heard from the other side, seeing as when he left, everyone was working in teams, talking loudly about anything but math. To say he was surprised when Niall opened him the door would be an understatement. He was shocked and Niall seemed surprised as well, but he also looked amused. Harry noticed though that the boy always looked amused by everything so that didn’t really mean anything.  
  
  
  
“Harry?” he whispered, eyebrow raised. “Is there anything you want?” he asked and  _oh_ , Harry noticed the students in the classroom, reading silently and  _oh_ , Harry noticed that none of them were people from his math class and  _damn_ , Harry felt his cheeks heat up at his mistake, eyes dropping low. He didn’t want to look back up in Niall’s eyes, the boy who  _wasn’t_  in his math class and  _of course_ , the one to open the door when he knocked on he wrong door.  
  
  
  
“No, I-I just,” he stuttered and Niall chuckled while Harry imply got redder. “I’ll just, um, I’ll go,” he said and walked away to the next door on the right.  
  
  
  
His face was still red and he was still highly embarrassed, but he got in his math class with a smile when he heard Niall in the distance say “Have a nice time in math!”.  
  
  
  
And when the teacher asked him where was his hall pass, he noticed that he dropped it again.  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
The second bell rang when he got to his locker and Harry knew he had to make it fast if he wanted to catch his bus.  The thing is, Harry was never one to make things fast. He liked to take his time, while eating, while walking, while talking and well, he was pretty sure he would miss his bus, but a tiny mini part of him was sparked with hope that this time, it would be different, that he would make it on time. So he grabbed his bag, stuffed it with things he would need for the weekend, put on his coat and made a run for the exit.  
  
  
  
The bus were already starting to leave and Harry lost all hopes of catching his when he stepped in a puddle of mud. What happened next was very fast. He lost his balance, and slipped into the puddle, right on his bum his bag cover in mud. He cursed under his breath and got up, resigned to walk the long way home with a dirty bag and a even dirtier ass. He stood up with a groan, and reached for his bag but as put his hand on the handle, smaller one laid on top of his.  
  
  
  
“You alright?” Niall actually looked worried, examining Harry’s face and the way he seemed to rub his back, with a painful expression.  
  
  
  
“Yeah, I’m just heading home,” he replied, his voice cold and he didn’t care if he sounded like an asshole, he just missed his bus, he fell into mud and all he wanted was to go home and sleep for a week or two. He was starting to get sick of acting like an idiot in front of his crush. He just wanted to go home.  
  
  
  
“I’ll give you a lift,” he offered but Harry shook his head and swung his bag over his shoulder. He ignored the way Niall’s face turned into a frown and started walking away instead.  
  
  
  
It was cold, the wind blowing hard against his face and Harry really REally didn’t want to walk the whole way home but he didn’t want to sit next to Niall, covered in mud from his head to his feet.  
  
  
  
“C’mon Harry! Why not?” he shouted and that was when Harry realised that the other boy hadn’t moved from his spot, his hand shoved deep inside his pocket, watching Harry slowly walk away.  
  
  
  
Harry sighed and turned around. “I’ll soil your passenger seat!” he shouted back. He was replied with Niall’s laughter.  
  
  
  
“Doesn’t matter! Bring your ass over here and get in my car!” He shouted and walked in the direction of his parked car, not bothering to look back to see if Harry was following. He knew he would be.  
  
  
  
And Harry was, because it really was cold and Niall had insisted.  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
It was Grimmy’s fault. Harry was sure of that. He was the one who had convinced him that the party wouldn’t be too wild and that if Harry didn’t want to stay, he’d give him a ride back. Of course, Harry being the nice and naive friend he was, gave in and accepted to go with him. There were at some boy’s place from their year, Zayn, and damn, the boy surely did have money because the place was huge and packed. He could almost taste the beer from people’s skin and breathe the weed from the hot air. The music was pounding loudly from expensive looking speakers, but there was so much space between each mansion that Harry was pretty sure they wouldn’t bother anyone. It started slow, a girl brought him a beer over and they talked for a bit but once she figured out he wasn’t exactly interested, she left him and skipped over to another boy, a new beer in her hand and Harry smirked. He then found his own way to the kitchen, where he found Nick and Finchy along with a couple of guys he didn’t know and they shared two or three beers before he lost them again.  
  
  
  
Then from here, it was all blurred memories. He do remember he had to use the bathroom. He stumbled in a room where both boys and girls were doing shots. He might have taken one or two (more like seven or eight actually) and then he went back searching for the bathroom. After what seemed like hours (probably more like a few minutes), Harry still couldn’t find any toilet and he really had to take a piss so he walked (more stumbled) in the general direction where he thought the front door was. It wasn’t an easy trip, trying to make his way down the stairs and passed the many people, but he finally did and let out a sigh of relief once the wind hit his cheek and made a mess of his hair.  He did his business in a reclusive corner of the lawn, behind a heavy bush, safely hidden from the couples making out (or blatantly having sex) just a few feet away from him.  
  
  
  
He tried to get back to the house, following the light and the sound of the bass from a shitty techno song but he crashed into a body, sending the both of them to fall to the ground with a thud. Harry already felt the dizzy but the sudden movement made it even worse. He peeked at the face to mumble his apologies but his stomach turned in an unpleasant way. OF Course he had to collide into Niall. He must have done something to the universe, and the universe made him pay back by acting like a total fool everytime Niall was around.  
  
  
  
“Sorry,” he said but in his inebriated state, the end of the word was swallowed by a fit of giggles, his face in the crook of Niall’s face as the blonde’s finger brushed his side. He was laying on top of the older boy, and Harry found himself thinking he wouldn’t mind taking a quick nap on top of him. So he let his head in Niall’s neck, playing with the blond locks.  
  
  
  
“Harry?” Niall asked after a minute of silence and Harry’s body tensed before coughing awkwardly and rolling off Niall. He tried to stand up, but he just felt more and more dizzy and Niall noticed that way Harry’s face turned into a greenish way.  
  
  
  
He saw it coming. He just couldn’t do anything to stop it. He puked on the grass under him, knees and palms firm on the ground, letting out the extra shots he probably shouldn’t have done and by the end of his heaving, there were tears in his eyes. He didn’t know why he was crying. It have been because of the burning sensation in his throat and the sour taste in his mouth. It might have been because of the pounding in his head he already felt and the idea of the upcoming hangover. Or it might have been the fact that he  _threw_  up right in front of Niall and that the boy would probably never speak to him again because he looked like a moron everytime he was around. So he stayed on his four, eyes locked on the ground, silently crying and waiting for Niall to go away.  
  
  
  
Niall didn’t go away. Instead, he started rubbing Harry’s back and pushing his bang off his forehead. He then ran his fingers through the curly hair, until the boy calmed down, whispering soothing words in his ear. Harry did calm down, his tears coming to a stop as he sat back next to Niall and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.  
  
  
  
“Better?” Niall asked and Harry refused to let his eyes meet his. He nodded.  
  
  
  
Niall stood up while Harry tried to think of various places where Grimmy could be. He noticed after a few moments that Niall still hadn’t moved and was still standing silently in front of him. He looked up curious and the blond just smiled down at him offering him his hand. Harry grabbed it and was lift to his feet without much effort from the other boy.  
  
  
  
“C’mon, let’s get you home,” he wanted to argue, tell him he already had a lift from Nick, but he was absolutely sure if friend was even drunker than him and Niall had yet to let go of his hand. So Harry just grabbed it tighter, and leaned his head on Niall’s shoulder on the walk to the car.  
  
  
  
Niall didn’t let go of his hand.


End file.
